Separation and quantitation of milk whey proteins of close isoelectric points by on-line capillary isoelectric focusing--electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in glycerol-water media.

On-line coupling between CIEF and ESI/MS based on the use of bare fused-silica capillaries and glycerol-water media, recently developed in our laboratory, has been investigated for the separation of milk whey proteins that present close pI values. First, a new rinsing procedure, compatible with MS detection, has been developed to desorb these rather hydrophobic proteins (α-casein (α-CN), bovine serum albumin (BSA), lactoferrin (LF)) from the inner capillary wall and to avoid capillary blockages. Common hydrochloric acid washing solution was replaced by a multi-step sequence based on the use of TFA, ammonia and ethanol. To achieve the separation of major whey proteins (β-lactoglobulin A (β-LG A), β-lactoglobulin B (β-LG B), α-lactalbumin (α-LA) and BSA, which possess close pI values (4.5-5.35), CIEF parameters i.e. carrier ampholyte nature, capillary partial filling length with ampholyte/protein mixture and focusing time, have been optimized with respect to total analysis time, sensitivity and precision on pI determination. After optimization of sheath liquid composition (80:20 (v/v) methanol-water+1% HCOOH), quantitation of β-LG A, β-LG B, α-LA and BSA was performed. The limits of detection obtained from extracted ion current (EIC) and single ion monitoring (SIM) modes were in the 57-136 nM and 11-68 nM range, respectively. Finally, first results obtained from biological samples demonstrated the suitability of CIEF-MS as a potential alternative methodology to 2D-PAGE to diagnose milk protein allergies.